The present invention relates to a shift apparatus including a gear shift lever, a check member and a position plate cooperating with the check member, for use in a vehicle, for example, a vehicle having an automatic transmission.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,522 issued on Dec. 28, 1982 to Kubota, U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,966 issued on Jan. 14, 1992 to Ishizuki, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,061 issued on Oct. 20, 1992 to Ishizuki, disclose shift apparatus for automatic transmission vehicles, each of which includes a gear shift lever rotatably supported about an axis on a vehicle body. A check member is coupled with the gear shift lever and cooperates with a position plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,221 issued on Sep. 3, 1991 discloses a shift apparatus for automatic transmission vehicles, which includes a gear shift lever slidable along a cranked guide slot formed on a console box secured to a vehicle body. A pivotal latch member is confined by a check mechanism so as to hold the gear shift lever without play in the guide slot.